Phoenixville man charged with sexual assault of Montgomery County girl

UPPER DUBLIN >> A Phoenixville man was arrested Nov. 1 and charged with the sexual assault of a 14-year-old Upper Dublin girl.

George P. Waghorn, 40, of the unit block of Nutt Road, was taken into custody on rape and related charges after he allegedly sexually assaulted the victim, whom he met in an online chat room, during three encounters in July and August, according to an affidavit.

As detailed in the criminal complaint, the victim reported Oct. 2 that she began an online conversation with an unknown male, who claimed to be in the 25-30 age range, in April on Whisper, an anonymous social networking app, claiming she was age 15-17. At some point, the male suggested they switch over to a different app, and the conversations became sexual in nature.

The male asked for naked photos of the victim, who complied, and he sent her a sexually explicit photo. The girl said she did tell the male she was not of legal age.

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The victim reported meeting the male, who provided her with marijuana on two of three separate occasions. The sexual assaults occurred during the last two meetings, which occurred late at night in a wooded area, before the girl reported the incidents to the police.

The victim arranged to meet the male, later identified as Waghorn, at a park on Nov. 1, where he was taken into custody.

In addition to one count of rape, Waghorn has been charged with three counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a minor, unlawful contact with a minor, statutory sexual assault, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, sexual abuse of children involving photographs, unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of minors, indecent assault, and related offenses.

He was arraigned before District Judge Patricia Zaffarano and taken to Montgomery County Prison on $500,000 cash bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 16.